Coeur gets its permits

The trading period ended June 22 was another week in which the market failed to find a direction: the Dow Jones Industrial average eased up just 14.55 points to 10,395.07 while the S&P 500 index slipped 7.77 points to 1,134.41. Fear of inflation grew, fueled by concerns over the chronic and worsening political violence in oil-rich Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

The world’s largest primary silver miner, Coeur d’Alene Mines, jumped US32 to US$4.22 as it reported it had received key environmental permits for two of its advanced development projects: the San Bartolome silver mine in Bolivia and the Kensington gold project in Alaska. By 2006, the former is due to be producing 6 million oz. silver annually, and the latter could be cranking out 100,000 oz. gold per year. Coeur also unveiled some nice exploration results after drilling high-grade vein systems at Cerro Bayo in Chile, Martha in Argentina, and Silver Valley in Idaho.

Abbotsford, B.C.-based junior Samex Mining topped the percentage-gainer list, rising 51% to US83. Lately the company has been carrying out trenching and channel sampoling at its 42-sq.-km Los Zorros gold property in Mexico.

Leading the percentage losers was Fischer-Watt Gold, which dropped 21% to US11. The company said that, at the end of April, it had US$36,197 in cash and accounts payable and accrued expenses of US$1,409,662, and it indicated it “does not have sufficient cash and other current assets to pay its bills and other liabilities incurred at the end of its fiscal year and due and payable within the next fiscal year.”